Dam.



No. 734,796. PATENTED JULY 28, 1903.

N. F. AMBURSEN.

DAM.

APPLIOATIGN FILED NOV. 21. 1902.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

WU gcsszs THE NuRms PETERS co, PNoTo-uwu. WAsmrmYoN, 0.1:.

No. 734,796. PATENTED JULY 28, 1903.

N. P. AMBURSEN.

DAM.

APPLIOYATION FILED NOV. 21, 1902.

ivo MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

adih asses m: Norms versus cu mum-4M0 WASHKNCTON. v c.

Patented Ju1y28, 190s.

ATENT FFICE.

NILS FREDRICK AMs RsEN', or WATERTOWN, NEW YORK.

DAM. a l

SPEGIFIGATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 234,796, dated July 28,1903. Application filed November 21,1902. Serial No. 132,293. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it rota/y concern.-

Be it known that I, NILs FREDRIOK AM- BURSEN, a citizen of the-UnitedStates, residing at Watertown, in the county of Jefierson and State ofNew York, have invented a new and useful Dam, of which the following isa specification.

The invention relates to certain improvements in the construction ofdams, and has for its principal object to construct a gravity dam, weir,or reservoir composed of concrete an angle as to take advantage of thepressure of water to assist in holding the dam in place and preventsliding movement from the hori-.

zontal thrust of the water, the flooring being inclined and slightlycurved in such manner as to throw all the pressure of the water wellwithin the lines of the dam-supports, increase in the depth of the waterproportionately increasing the weight on the dam and tending to morefirmly hold the same in place.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction of damcomposed wholly of concrete strengthened by iron or steel and in whichthe metal is entirely embedded in the concrete and all danger ofoxidation prevented, the dam requiring no attention whatever after thebuildingoperation iscompleted.

A further object of the invention is to pro vide an improved form ofanchor for holding the dam in place against pressure in a horizontaldirection.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in thenovelconstruction and arrangement of parts hereinafterdescribed,illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularlypointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that variouschanges in the form, proportions, size, andminor details of thestructure may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificingany of the advantages of the in- .vention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a transverse sectionalelevation of a dam constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the same, a portion of the flooring beingbroken away in order to more clearly illustrate the arrangement of themetallic tension-rods and expanded metal or wires to assist in holdingthe flooring in place. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective View of one of theanchoring pins or bolts.

Similar numerals ofreference are employed to indicate correspondingparts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

In carrying out the invention I erect a large number of buttresses 1 onlines parallel with the direction of flow of the water, these buttressesbeing formed of concrete and having straight parallel sides, the rearwalls of the buttresses being inclined at a suitable angle in order tothe better resist the pressure of the water. The buttresses are anchoredin place by vertically-disposed iron pins 2,placed in openings bored inthe rock or other foundation and extending for approximately halfthelengthintothe buttresses. Thelowerend of'each of the pins is split,as shown more clearly in Fig. 3, and in the split portion is inserted athin edge of an iron wedge, so that after the pin is lowered in place inthe opening it may be driven down and the lower end of the pin spreadand locked against the walls of the opening. This forms a secure anchorfor the buttresses and prevents sliding of the dam under horizontalpressure of the water.

As the principal objects of the invention are to take advantageof theweightof the water to assist in holding the dam in position and toarrange the lines of pressure wholly within the limits of the buttresseswithout providing an extensive base area, the flooring of the dam isarranged on a reversely-curved line and preferably at the lower portionof the dam on an inclined line tangential to the concaved -ordownwardly-extending curve.

dicular to the flooring'will converge toward the horizontal line of thebase, and thus throw all the lines of pressure within a hori- 'z'ontalbase -line of restricted area. The curved line is clearly illustrated inthe drawings, and in order to avoid repetition in the claims the shorterterms concave curve and convex curve have been used to designate theshape of the surfaces at the lower and upper portions, respectively, ofthe flooring.

It will be noted that the dam is of substantially triangular form incross-section, the lines of the base and flooring being of substantiallyequal extent, so that the floorline will project but a limited distancebeyond the vertical vplane in which the crest of the dam is disposed.This construction, in connection with the reversely-curved line of thedam-flooring, permits lines of force and pressure perpendicular to theface of the flooring to fall within the limits of the baseline, so thatthe weight of the Water acts 7 positively to hold the dam in position.

In the flooring of the darn are a number of equidistantly-spaced ironrods 5, which extend the whole length of thedam and act as tensionmembers to strengthen the flooring and resist the pressure of the waterthereon. The flooring is further strengthened and a supporting-base forthe concrete is formed by the employment of sheets of expanded metal 6,placed on top of the tension-rods, or twisted Wire or heavy woven wiremay be employed as a substitute for the expanded metal. All portions ofthe metal are covered by the concrete, there being no metal-work exposedand the dam requiring no care or attention whatever after the buildingoperation is completed.

It will be noted that the buttresses are wholly protected from the waterby the flooring, so that no ice, logs, or debris passing over the damcan accumulate between the buttresses and, beingjammed, tend to destroythe structure.

A dam built in accordance with this invention has all the advantages ofa solid-masonry dam without the expense of time and materials incidentto its construction, as well as reducing the cost of labor, the concretebeing molded on the spot withoutthe employment of specially-skilledlabor.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. A dam inwhich the lines of the base and flooring, transversely considered, areof substantially equal extent, the flooring so formed that the lines ofpressure perpendicular to its face shall fall within the limits of thebase.

2. A dam of substantially triangular form in cross-section in which thewidths of the flooring and base lines are substantially of equal extent,the flooring being arranged on a reversely-curved line in order to throwthe lines of pressure perpendicular to its face wholly within the limitsof the base.

3. In dam construction, a flooring having its upper portion arranged ona convex curve to therebydistribute the lines of pressure perpendicularto the face of the floor wholly within the base-line of the dam, thefloor and base lines, transversely considered, being of substantiallyequal extent and the outer line of the base extending but a limiteddistance beyond the vertical plane in which the crest of the dam isdisposed.

4. In dam construction, a dam having the lower portion of its flooringarranged on a concave line to thereby throw a greater portion of theweight of the water toward the lower portion than to the upper portionof said dam.

5. In dam construction,a dam-floor arranged on a reversely-curved line,the curve at the lower portion of the floor being concave, and that atthe upper portion of said floor being convex.

6. In dam construction,a plurality ofspaced buttresses having parallelperpendicular walls, a flooring supported by the buttresses, metaltension-rods embedded in the flooring and extendinglengthwise thereof,and reticulated metal also embedded in the flooring and forming apartial support therefor, substantially as specified.

7. In dam construction,a plurality of spaced buttresses formed ofconcrete, anchor-pins embedded partlyin the foundation and partly in thebuttresses, and a flooring formed partly of concrete and partly of metaltension-rods embedded in the concrete, said flooring being arranged on apartly-curved and partly-inclined plane so that the linesof pressureperpendicular to the face of the floor shall lie wholly within thelimits of the base of the buttresses, the outer ends of the buttressesprojecting but a limited distance beyond the vertical plane in which thecrest of the dam is disposed.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in Witnesses:

EARLE W. SAYLES, GEO. W. REEVES.

